Germane to bicycling and many other sports is the problem of `seeing behind`. A long standing need, recognized especially in bicycle riding, is for the rider to see traffic approaching from the rear without having to bodily swivel around to do so. Looking back in this manner can be very dangerous as it frequently causes the rider to swerve or wander into the path of an approaching vehicle. The reason for this is excessive head movement and the simple fact that the rider naturally tends to steer and lean in the direction he is looking. Therefore, to maintain good balance while `seeing behind` it is necessary for the rider to keep his head steady. Similarly, this same phenomenon is observable, only to a lesser degree, while driving a motor vehicle. The need for `seeing behind` is underscored even more emphatically by the continued absence of uniform laws. Typically there is no minimum safe distance stipulated for a motor vehicle when passing a bicycle in traffic. The bicycle rider cannot totally rely on audible clues to traffic coming from behind. He must at times change lanes and make turns, and such maneuvers require good spatial orientation and reliable information. Wrong assumptions or uncertainty regarding traffic conditions can and all too frequently do have dire consequences.
Heretofore, individuals have attempted to solve the bicyclist's problem of `seeing behind` by developing mirror devices for rear viewing, none of which are widely accepted. These fall broadly into several types: handlebar mounted mirrors, helmet mounted mirrors and eyeglass mounted mirrors. Handlebar mounted mirrors receive a great deal of road shock directly through the front fork and bicycle frame. Therefore, they are very prone to vibration which can result in blurred vision and frequent readjustments. The helmet mounted type has likewise met with minimal acceptance due to a lack of aesthetics, poor aerodynamics and a perceived safety hazard which could result from a head first crash while having an object protruding forward in front of the rider's face. Eyeglass mounted mirrors have many of the same drawbacks including poor aerodynamics and the sacrificing of some forward visibility. The nuisance of having a permanent fixture suspended in front of the user's face requires an unwelcome accommodation generally rejected by most riders. It is readily apparent the above prior art solutions, of which U.S. Pat. No. 4,603,944, issued Aug. 5, 1986 to Greenlaw et. al. is exemplary, have failed to fully satisfy the need for `seeing behind`.
Despite the explosion in bicycling popularity, the market place has demonstrated incredible inertia and resistance to the above solutions. It is estimated they have cumulatively achieved a market penetration of only 25%. There is still further evidence of this reluctance to adopt the existing solutions offered. The users of the above products tend to be demographically skewed towards the more safety conscious, older bicyclists. The net result is approximately 3 of 4 bicyclists have so far spurned the available solutions. This group of generally younger and more aggressive riders has chosen to do without any type of rear viewing device at all. As for `seeing behind`, they continue to bodily swivel around consequently incurring the increased safety risks involved with this practice. Clearly, the extant problem of `seeing behind`, at least in the sport of bicycling today, has not to any great measure been alleviated by the solutions offered by the prior art.
This massive resistance to the prior art is largely attributable to the fact that the sport of bicycling has become extremely high tech and image conscious. In order for a product to meet with success here it must possess a combination of the following three qualities: (1) good aerodynamic and/or anatomical characteristics, (2) satisfying technical function and (3) an aesthetically pleasing style. In most cases these qualities are of equal relative importance. Thus, the lack of products for rear viewing evidencing even two of these qualities has left a sizable void in the market place. It is to this void that the present invention is directed.
By virtue of my invention, the state of the art will be advanced such that bicyclists not currently employing any rear viewing devices will be included into the ranks of those who do. A significant positive impact on the safety record of bicycles in traffic will be achieved, and the general public, be they bicyclists or other road users, will be the ultimate beneficiaries.